Silent as the Grave
by Tigerstripe
Summary: A kit is born. She is silent, not a word spoken from her mouth. Her eyes pierce through your soul, right down to your fate. Little does everyone know, the shy apprentice knows about the opposition and wars that are to come. Rated T just in case!
1. prologue: Or Just His Imagination?

Prologue

One must always remember that there is bound to be something wrong when you wake up in silence. That was how it was one night for a brown tabby, as she woke from her nest, a terrible aching sensation in the pit of her swollen belly.

"Daisy?" she grunted, looking around in the dark for the gentle kittypet. "Ferncloud? Millie?" silence. _Where am I?_ The queen wondered. _I thought I was in the nursery. _

"Brook." A whisper echoed across the walls made of stone and-

Stone? Brook suddenly realized where she was and gasped. This must be the moonpool! There was a pool that shone below her paws, shining like diamond.

"Brook." The call came again, but this time louder and clearer. Brook spun around, hackles rising dangerously to confront an enemy. But what she saw made her stop dead in amazement.

"Feathertail?" she asked in a guttural accent. Feathertail's blue eyes glowed in response. "Why have you come to me in my dreams?"

"You must know that this isn't a punishment, Brook, my dearest friend." Feathertail soothed. The silver cat turned to leave but Brook cried out bluntly to explain. "When the time comes," Feathertail said softly, not turning around. "Look for Stormfur's blood, his love will answer the fate. Now wake, Brook. You're kits are coming tonight."

"My kits?" Brook suddenly felt the pain in her stomach heighten considerably. She awoke with a gasp, and felt soft moss beneath her belly. "My kits! They're coming!" she yowled.

Firestar woke from pleasant dreams at Brook's wail. He padded calmly out of his den and onto Highledge, where he saw Leafpool and his grandson, Jaypaw scurry to the nursery, herb in jaws. Millie, his best friend Graystripe's mate, had recently delivered three healthy kits: a gray tom with short, delicate fur, a tabby she-kit with a loud yowl, and a tabby tom with his mother's coat, but his father's eyes.

The Thunderclan leader prayed to his ancestors that Brook's kits would be just as fine. They had to be, with both Leafpool and Jaypaw to help them. As he was watching the heavens intently for any significant sign, a hobby he had obtained from his old friend Cinderpelt, when he thought he heard whispering.

He strained his ears, green eyes sparkling with curiosity, listening to the whispers of many cats.

_Who does he think he is? Leader of the whole forest?_

_We should have kicked him out the first gathering._

_His clan is pathetic!_

_Kittypet blood is turning this forest into mush._

Firestar ground his teeth, furious. The whispers were about _him_!

He closed his eyes, trying to sense where the traitors to him were. His mind flashed up to the heavens, an experience he had not yet had. He could scent a sweet smell, and knew that he had instinctively sought out Spottedleaf. No matter how many moons he had to repeat to himself that she was gone, he would never stop loving his precious tortoiseshell.

"I then curse her!" came a harsh voice. "Never to speak of the forest's fate!" Firestar jerked out of the connection. He knew that voice to be of Tigerstar, Firestar's all time enemy.

Firestar blinked, not daring to try and reach Spottedleaf again. He had a feeling that he was not to hear what he had, and to make sense of what he _had_ heard would take much pondering and consideration.


	2. C1: His Beginning of Fate

**Chapter One**

"Leafpool?" Daisy meowed, entering the medicine cat's den.

"No one here but me," Jaypaw meowed, turning to face Daisy all the same. "What is it?"

"Brook and I, we're worried about her kit." Daisy explained, fluffing out her creamy fur in worry.

"What do you mean?" Jaypaw swung around to look her in the face, even though, of coarse, he couldn't see. "She still hasn't made a sound!"

**_::S.I.L.E.N.T.A.S.T.H.E.G.R.A.V.E.::_**

Owlkit bounced around the nursery, sending dust and sand flying.

"Owlkit, enough!" his mother, Millie, scolded him gently, pulling him over to stand beside her. Owlkit calmed for a moment, but bounced to his feet again when he saw his siblings return with a fresh mouse.

"It's mine!" he yowled, chasing after the gray mouse. His sister, Otterkit, shoved him away playfully, while their brother, Volekit, took advantage of their squabbling and dug into the mouse.

"Hey, no fair!" Otterkit and Owlkit chorused, tackling their brother for the food.

"Honestly, kits- enough, already! If you have nothing better to do, go ask Longtail if he can take you out of camp to play." Millie sighed, resting her chin on her paws in mock resignation, although she wouldn't say no to a nice brake from the kits' endless play.

"What about _your_ daughter, Brook?" Owlkit meowed noisily, looking at the gray-and-white she-kit, with whom he had never heard a peep from, despite her being but a few days younger than he. "Can she come play with us?" the she-kit didn't stir or twitch an ear as sign that she could even hear Owlkit.

"No, Leafpool's got to give her a check-up today, little one." Brook mewed gently, staring with apprehension at her own little kit. Owlkit felt strangely deaf, watching Brook and his mother curiously, not paying the least bit of attention to either of his siblings. He watched as Brook shot Millie a confused look.

"Don't worry, Brook." Millie soothed. "In a few moons, she'll be laughing about how she never made a sound. She'll probably use it as a trick to shut her little ones up someday!" Brook purred in amusement and gratitude, but her gray, stony eyes were still frightened.

"I see I have a patient," came a voice, and Owlkit whirled around to see Jaypaw squeezing into the nursery. "Figuratively speaking of course," he added with a hint of dark humor. His tone suddenly turned serious as he sniffed the kit curiously. "Despite being silent, how is your daughter, Brook?"

"Well, she _seems_ healthy, but she never responds to me when I mention her. She only ever stirs when I prod her. Jaypaw, please do your best. I know I'm asking a lot, but she's my only kit in the litter…"

"I understand," Jaypaw admonished. "Have you considered the slight possibility of hearing difficulties?"

"What's all of the ruckus?" Leafpool had arrived, carrying the scent of the forest on her, and Owlkit supposed she had been out doing… well, whatever it was Medicine Cats did in their sparest moments.

"I'm considering that Brook's daughter may be deaf." Jaypaw explained, turning around to stare Leafpool in the eye- an eerie gesture for one who was blind.

"Okay, Brook. Let's get you two out into fresher air so as we don't squash Millie and her kits. Can you get her to follow you?" Leafpool mewed briskly, taking charge.

"She hasn't moved much since she was born. Once I woke up and caught her stretching, but that's all." Brook murmured quietly.

"In four moons? Come on!" Jaypaw burst out, earning a reproachful growl from Brook.

"Excuse me?" Owlkit broke in, and the Medicine Cats turned their shocked gazes onto the little brown tom, who flinched nervously. "Uh… can I try getting her up?"

Without waiting for a response, he scrambled over to the little mound of gray fur and poked her gently with a sheathed paw. She look up at him with ice blue eyes that seemed to pierce through his soul. Startled, he took a few pawsteps back for his safety.

"Woah!" Volekit exclaimed, looking over his brother's shoulder. "She has scary eyes!"

The kit resumed her position of burying her face in her mothers belly fur.

"Honestly, you two!" their sister hissed, strutting by with her nose held snottily in the air. "Have you no respect?" the two kits shook their heads innocently. Otterkit showed her white teeth in a smirk. "Hey, little kit." She said gently. 'Don't mind my pig-headed brothers. They find fault with their own mother's milk!"

The little ball of fur didn't respond. "Er," Otterkit meowed, taken aback. "are you deaf?"

This received a better response. The kit drew herself up indignantly, fur puffing out in hostility, and she turned her head to glare at the wall, not looking at any of them.

"Er, I'm hoping that means she's not deaf." Owlkit meowed bluntly. "Kit of Brook's. If you can hear me, turn around…?" he ended, looking at Leafpool and realizing with a pang that he was starting to take over when it was her duty, not his. But Leafpool's amber gaze was fixed on the kit, who turned around and caught Leafpool's gaze.

Owlkit knew that feeling- as if you couldn't look away for a moment.

"Brook, what is your daughter's name?" Leafpool asked, not tearing her gaze from that of the kits.

"She has no name as of right now," Brook meowed hesitantly, obviously nervous that she would be in trouble for not naming the little scrap.

"That's fine." Leafpool reassured Brook quickly. "I'll just call you Brook's kit, okay, dear?" she addressed the little she-kit that belonged to Brook. "Now, I'm going to ask a few questions that are answerable by yes or no, okay?"

Brook's daughter's jaw slid from left to right, but she bowed her head eventually.

"Okay, then." Leafpool continued. "Brook's kit, can you hear me?"

Another bow of the head.

"Can you speak to me?"

This time Brook's kit flattened her ears and turned away angrily.

"That's a no, then. Do you know why you can't speak to me?"

Brook's kit thought for a moment, then shrugged.

"That could possibly mean two things," Millie guessed. "She doesn't know or else she knows but doesn't know how to tell us."

Brook's kit tilted her head sharply to Millie twice.

"The latter, then?" Otterkit asked, jumping onto the game quickly.

A sudden commotion from outside made them all jump in alarm. Brook's kit, who was nearest to the exit, scrambled out of the nursery with a protest from her mother. From what Owlkit could see of the kit's tail, she was scared as anything. Leafpool, Jaypaw, Brook, and Millie all fought to get outside, pushing Brook's kit back in.

"Weellll," Volekit sighed, plumping down on the soft moss. "They obviously won't let us out for a while."

"So what is your name, given that you had the choice to choose it?" Otterkit prompted Brook's kit.

The little gray-and-white calico put a paw to her mouth.

"Mouthkit?" Otterkit guessed. The gray kitten shook her head angrily.

"Vocalkit?" Volekit asked, to another flattening of the ears and shaking of the head.

"Oh!" Owlkit leapt up. "Is it Silentkit?" Brook's kit bowed her head, her eyes shining. "Okay, then! You're Silentkit!"

A sudden shuddering of the ground made all four kits crouch low, terrified, not only by the rattling, but by the sudden shrieking from outside.

"What's going on out there?" Volekit whispered frightfully. Silentkit had a completely different reaction. She dug her claws into the Earth and ripped up rocks and ground, her eyes glittering with grief.

"What- What's wrong!" Otterkit yowled. The shrieking from outside had stopped, but Silentkit was having some sort of fit, and Owlkit was sure that if she could make sound she would be yowling with pain. As the three kit's of Millie watched her in fright, they heard as their parents and the medicine cat's reentered the den, hollow with grief like Silentkit.

"What happened?" Volekit asked, his voice taught with dread.

"A boulder fell from the cliff," Jaypaw whispered sadly. "It killed Hazelstorm,"

Otterkit and Volekit groaned, more out of sympathy for Daisy, Hazelstorm's mother, than for Hazelstorm herself, who they had only met once or twice. Owlkit, however, glanced at Silentkit, who had stopped fidgeting, but stared at the ground coldly.

A cold dread crept up Owlkit's paws. Had Silentkit somehow _known_ that this would, or was, happening?


	3. C2: Something He wanted

**a/n**** thanks for the fantastic reviews XD YOU GUYS ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

"Today's our big day!"

"Shut up, he'll claw our ears off if we wake him up!"

Owlkit stirred and sat up sleepily, a piece of moss clinging around his ear ornamentally.

"Oh, great, now look what you've done!" Otterkit scolded her brother.

"Me? It was your big mouth that woke him!" came the sharp retort.

"Be quiet, can't a kit get some peace and quiet around here?" Owlkit snapped. "Cat's are trying to sleep, y'know!" before letting his siblings have time to answer, he stalked out of the den. Before ducking out of the nursery, he heard Otterkit mew, "Told you you shouldn't have spoken so loudly!"

However, Owlkit's predictable bad temper was short lived as he stretched, embracing the warm Greenleaf air. He padded over to the fresh-kill pile, doubling his speed with excitement as he remembered that it was the day of all of the kits' naming ceremonies! Well, all except Ferncloud's newest litter.

"She spits out kits as if she's terrified of being a warrior!" he grumbled mutinously.

"Talking to yourself, are you?"

Owlkit jumped and spun around, his eyes meeting green ones. "Hollypaw, you scared me half to death!" he snapped. But his anger and terror was quickly replaced by curiosity. "how did you feel when you became an apprentice?"

"Well, I was excited and terrified, of course," Hollypaw purred in amusement. "And relieved. Jaypaw, Lionpaw and I had just been caught trying to hunt down fox cubs by ourselves, and so we thought our apprenticeship might have been put on hold. And that was when I had thought I wanted to become medicine cat apprentice, and Jaypaw was mentored by Brightheart."

"Oh." Owlkit murmured, relieved. "I wonder who my mentor will be! Icepaw is so lucky, being mentored by Brambleclaw!"

"Yeah, but I'll bet one of you three is mentored by Graystripe," Hollypaw pointed out.

Owlkit's eyes blazed with excitement once more. "Yeah, I hope it's me!" he meowed, then voiced his biggest fear. "What about Silentkit, though?"

"I'm sure she'll be an apprentice, Jaypaw is, isn't he?" Hollypaw pointed out, though her green eyes flashed with doubt.

"What I mean is, she seems to really admire her father. I hope she gets him as her mentor," Owlkit murmured quietly.

"I don't know if he will be," Hollypaw mewed. "Silentkit will really need a mentor who is strict and fierce, she's so stubborn and angry all the time!"

"What do you mean?" Owlkit protested, his hackles beginning to rise.

"The other day I asked her if she wanted me to bring her a mouse and she puffed out and shook her head, looking like she was going to murder me!" Hollypaw meowed bemusedly.

"That's just her way of saying no, it's not personal," Owlkit reassured her hastily.

"Why didn't she just simply shake her head then?" Hollypaw retorted hotly.

"I guess she might be frustrated because she can't talk," Owlkit suggested, causing Hollypaw's whiskers to twitch, impressed by Owlkit's reasoning. "Her eyes are scary, though!" he added, causing Hollypaw to thrash her tail in agreement.

A crackling of leaves made the two young cats turn, and Owlkit felt his blood turn to ice as he saw Silentkit right beside him. Her nose was in the air and her eyes were closed as if she didn't want to even look at them right that instant. Owlkit felt guilt prick him like thorns and he shifted uncomfortably as Silentkit picked up a mouse in her jaws and retreated back to her den.

"If your quite done with discussing every member in the clan, Hollypaw, come on, I want to get a good hunt in before the ceremony!" Jumping once more, Owlkit turned morose eyes on Brackenfur, who was staring at them with displeasure lurking in every aspect of his green eyes.

"Okay, Brackenfur," Hollypaw mewed hastily, and as her mentor turned away, she murmured guiltily to Owlkit, "oops!"

After she had padded off, Owlkit turned back to the nursery. Silentkit was staring at the ground furiously as Otterkit took a mouthful of the mouse before pushing it back to the light gray cat, who took a small bite and pushed it back at Owlkit's sister.

Sighing with resignation and deciding that he didn't want to spend his first night as an apprentice feeling guilty, Owlkit trudged over and stood silently, respectively, next to Silentkit who didn't acknowledge his presence.

"Silentkit?" he attempted. The only response from Silentkit came from her taking another bite of the mouse. Otterkit rolled her eyes at him at his hesitance of guilt. "Er, I'm really sorry Hollypaw and I were, eh, discussing you behind your ears. It was wrong." Still no reaction.

"Now, Silentkit, is that the way to behave?" Silentkit's ears pricked up immediately and she raced to greet her father, Stormfur, who touched noses with her affectionately, purring. "Now, he says he's sorry…"

Owlkit flattened his ears in embarrassment. He didn't like Silentkit having to be told to be mature and accept his apology by her father in front of him like a newborn.

Silentkit slowly turned and brushed her cheek against Owlkit's in forgiveness.

"Honestly, Owlkit. You are the most inconsiderate kit…!" Otterkit began, but a yowling from Highledge quieted her.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath high ledge for a clan meeting!" came a strong call, and Volekit scampered out of the nursery as fast as if he were being chased by a dog.

Owlkit quivered with barely concealed excitement. He turned to Silentkit, expecting to see his friend beaming, but she looked forlornly at her father. He wondered again if she would be able to get her father for a mentor, and then wondered for a flash if she already knew whether she would be mentored by her father or not. This last thought was absurd, of course. Still, the memory of the longhaired she-kit shivering with sadness before she had found out the news of Hazelstorm's death haunted him still.

"We are gathered here today," Firestar continued once his clan had assembled before him. Owlkit burned his eyes into his father's friend's green ones. _"__because__ four of our kits have reached their sixth moon." _Owlkit meowed the ceremony along with his leader in his head before stepping forward with his siblings and Silentkit.

"Otterkit," Otterkit, positively trembling with excitement, scampered forward and nearly cannoned into Firestar, who purred with amusement. "From this day forward, until you have earned your warrior name, you shall be known as Otterpaw."

Otterpaw's fur bristled in glee and her whiskers were going haywire, waving around as if in a strong gust of wind.

"Graystripe, you were a fantastic mentor to Brackenfur, and he is now a noble and courageous warrior. Now I ask you to pass on the same skills to Otterpaw!"

_Shoot!_ Owlkit cursed silently, feeling resentment towards his sister for claiming their father as her mentor.

Otterpaw darted up to her father with a little mew of ecstasy and touched noses with him. Hard. Graystripe's eyes watered and Otterpaw shook her head with embarrassment.

"Otterpaw, Otterpaw!" cried Poppypaw happily, her well groomed coat fluffing out with welcome.

"Silentkit, I have thought long and hard for a mentor for you…" Firestar continued. "And I have come to the conclusion that I would like to watch your training closely." Owlkit saw Silentkit bristle slightly in distaste at his special treatment. "From this moment on, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Silentpaw. I will be your mentor." This received a shocked murmuring from the crowd.

Silentpaw, who didn't seem surprised at all, nodded and padded forward, touching noses with Firestar gently. An uneasy ripple seemed to run through the clan. "Congratulations," Owlkit murmured in Silentpaw's ear as she passed on her way to the crowd of apprentices.

"Silentpaw! Silentpaw!" the apprentices chanted, this time with Otterpaw mewling along with them excitedly.

"Volekit," Volekit bounced up eagerly, but tried to compose himself as he walked forward, resulting in a spasm of joy which caused him to trip and flatten his ears in embarrassment as the clan purred in amusement. "From this day forward, until you have earned your warrior name, you will be known as Volepaw. Berrypelt, you were trained by Brambleclaw and he was an excellent mentor to you. I expect you to pass on all that you learned to Volepaw, so that he can become as much as a credit to this clan as you and Brambleclaw."

"Volepaw, Volepaw!" came the expected response, and Volepaw hurried to get to the apprentices, before turning around halfway there and sprinting back to Berrypelt to touch noses with him eagerly. Owlkit stood up, knowing what was coming next.

"Owlkit, from this moment on, until you have served your clan in a way that earns you your warrior name, you will be known as Owlpaw." Owlpaw shivered slightly as he received his new name. "Birchfall, you were well trained by Ashfur," Owlpaw thought he saw Brambleclaw's eyes flash, "and are a wonderful warrior. I expect you pass on all that you learned to this apprentice."

Birchfall looked as excited as Owlpaw felt to receive his first apprentice. The newest Thunderclan apprentice hardly heard the chanting of the apprentices and of the rest of the clan as they chorused the four new apprentices names.

The four new apprentices gathered together around Graystripe, who was giving instructions. "Now," he was saying. "I am going to take you four to explore the forest with me after you've eaten, okay? Be back here quick or we won't have time to see the whole forest."

Silentpaw prodded Owlpaw hard and he turned, wincing, to face her. She flicked her tail around at the clan, and Owlpaw, after a moment of confusion, understood what she was trying to ask.

"You'll be the only one taking us, then?" he asked Graystripe, who at once looked slightly offended.

"I'm sure I can deal with you three, I do have contact with your mother after all," he purred, offence quickly turning to amusement. Owlpaw felt an urge to explain that it had not been he who had doubted his father.

He turned to Silentpaw, about to explain, but she was shaking her head and backing away slowly. "What?" he asked her. Graystripe was there in a flash.

"You want more warriors to come with us?" Graystripe asked, and Silentpaw nodded vigorously. "But they all have other duties instead of coming with us," he explained. Silentpaw stamped on of her feet onto the ground and shook her head angrily.

_Could she sense something evil approaching?_


	4. C3: Something He Created

Owlpaw's eyes strayed back to the back of the group. Silentpaw crept forward warily, her blue eyes wide and frightened and her fur bristling furiously. Graystripe had refused to bring another warrior with him, insisting that they had more important duties than to watch after a couple of apprentices.

"Now just stay near me, and you'll be fine," he reassured her, flicking his gray tail in a patiently friendly way. Owlpaw could tell that his father thought there must be something wrong with this small gray apprenticed, and it made his blood boil angrily.

Owlpaw drifted back reluctantly and joined Silentpaw, who was padding crouched low to the ground, as if ducking under low ferns. He made sure to keep his form straight and tall to show her that the forest was nothing to be afraid of.

After a while, the group ahead began to drift away, as they were going much faster than Silentpaw and Owlpaw, who felt responsible for making sure that the silent apprentice wouldn't get lost. "Shouldn't we catch up?" he voiced cautiously. "After all, if we run into trouble, they may not be able to hear us…" he had not meant to frighten her more, but Silentpaw's eyes narrowed and she shot forward to join the others.

Sighing, Owlpaw took after her, wishing his first day as an apprentice could go over a little more smoothly.

"So this," Graystripe announced. "Is the Windclan border," he was halted near a stream, which flowed in a dark blue current, glimmering in the little rays of sunlight peeking out through the overhead trees. "Now remember, the stream isn't the border, the border is-"

Before he could continue, Otterpaw scampered up to the stream, licking her lips thirstily and began to lap up water from the stream.

"No!" Graystripe gasped, and Silentpaw thrashed her tail mutinously, her eyes wide with alarm. Volepaw mewed with edginess, but Otterpaw seemed puzzled. She cocked her head at them, her eyes narrowed in confusion. "Get back!" Graystripe hissed, flicking his tail at her. Immediately, Otterpaw skittered back to her father.

For a moment nobody moved, and Graystripe glanced around nervously, his nose in the air, sniffing furiously. After a moment he relaxed, and Owlpaw heard Silentpaw breathe out hard in relief. "The border is just on this side of the stream. We don't own the river, so you are not to drink from it. If you need water, find a puddle or go to the lake, not this stream." Graystripe rested his tail on Otterpaw's shoulder comfortingly.

Owlpaw's sister was rigid with shock, her eyes wide and horrified that she had broken the warrior code on her first day as an apprentice.

"Sorry!" she mewed.

"Don't worry," Graystripe purred reassuringly, resting his tail on her shoulder. "We weren't caught this time. Just be sure not to do it again, and I'll let it slide."

"Maybe you will," growled a voice. "but not us!" The five cats whirled around, their fur standing on end as they saw a lean and strong Windclan warrior standing on the Thunderclan bank, his dark blue eyes narrowed incredulously, and his dark fur fluffed out in hostility.

"Crowfeather, let me-" Graystripe began, but Crowfeather hissed ferociously and four more cats rose to their paws beside him. Owlpaw gasped in shock. Where had they come from; two apprentices and two warriors, both of them just as lean and powerful as Crowfeather.

"I-" Graystripe tried again, more irritably this time, but Crowfeather yowled, "Attack!" and the Windclan warriors lunged at the Thunderclan patrol.

Owlpaw saw Otterpaw squeal in terror as a jet black she-cat swiped at her viciously. However, Owlpaw couldn't look at her for long because a small white queen had leapt at him, immediately pinning him to the ground. His kitten-weak muscles strained as he tried to push the warrior off of him. He scored his claws down her shoulder, and the white warrior looked momentarily puzzled when she saw his kitten-soft fur and clumsy paws.

"Um, Crowfeather?" she meowed, turning her head, but still pinning down and indignant Owlpaw, who writhed and struggled in vain to get free. "Crowfeather!" she tried again, raising her voice, but to no avail, Crowfeather was battling Graystripe who was dodging swiftly and lashing out at the same time. The white cat looked down at Owlpaw, who howled in fury.

"Calm down!" she snapped, her voice brittle. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but the latest you've been apprenticed was yesterday."

After Owlpaw realized that escape was impossible, he stopped struggling. "That's right. Today," he grunted moodily, disappointed with his own failing strength. "how could you tell?"

"You still have milk-sent on you," the she-cat mewed, letting him free. "Don't attack me, or I'll chase you off." She warned. Habit of obeying a warrior made Owlpaw sit down as the white she-cat ran over to one of the rocks, leapt up and yowled, "Stop this!"

Crowfeather and Graystripe stopped immediately, still glaring at each other, but Otterpaw was managing to dart around the infuriated black she-cat faster than the cat could think, and was too preoccupied to hear her. Silentpaw was grappling with a tabby apprentice, moons older than her, most likely about to be a warrior. The little apprentice was terrifying, her claws dug into the older apprentices shoulders and raking over them, leaving gashes which oozed blood.

Finally, the older apprentice shrieked angrily and tore away, her fur bristling with embarrassment at being beat by such a tiny and quiet apprentice, who now sat, licking a paw innocently, now aware that the fighting had ceased between two of the fighting pairs.

Crowfeather bounded over to the white queen, who muttered something furiously into his ear. Crowfeather flicked his tail awkwardly and turned stonily to face the others. His eyes flickered over Graystripe before slowly turning to stare at Owlpaw. Silentpaw had padded coolly up to Owlpaw and was licking a cut in his shoulder where the white warrior had cut him. She suddenly stiffened as if remembering something, and whipped around to where Volepaw was struggling fruitlessly to fight off a black apprentice, who was pounding him mercilessly.

"Breezepaw!" the black queen, who had stopped fighting Otterpaw and was glaring at the black apprentice. "Stop this!" the black she-cat raced to her clanmate's side, but Silentpaw was faster, with a more urgent mission it seemed.

The little gray apprentice had her jaws open in a silent wail of terror as she sprinted towards Breezepaw and Volepaw, who at that moment found a bit of strength in him and kicked his powerful hind paws into Breezepaw's belly. A moment where the world stood still.

Breezepaw's golden eyes widened in shock as he was forced backwards to the very edge of the river. Owlpaw glanced impulsively at Silentpaw, who was tearing at the ground with grief and knew what was about to happen. He gasped as Breezepaw teetered precariously at the edge of the river before toppling into it with a terrified wail of fear.

"Breezepaw!" Crowfeather yowled in alarm, racing to the edge of the river and searching it's depths desperately. Without a word, he slipped into the river and swam clumsily yet strongly downstream, calling the apprentice's name desperately.

The black queen whipped around, her eyes smoldering as they fell upon Volepaw, who hadn't moved. He looked sickened by his own actions. "You!" she shrieked furiously. "You've killed my only kit!" She moved to attack Volepaw, but Graystripe intercepted her.

"It was an accident, Nightcloud!" he insisted. The white she-cat padded over, her face stricken with grief as well. She touched her nose to Nightcloud's flank, but the black she-cat reared away. After a few moments of pacing, the queen dug her claws into the ground, threw back her head and wailed terribly.

Owlpaw wished he could cover his ears and block the terrible sound of grief echoing from this mother's jaws. Instead he was forced to watch her miserably, his tail flat on the ground with shock. Silentpaw was right, they never should have come without more warriors.

Eventually the horrible sound of anguish was silenced, and Silentpaw padded towards the black queen purposefully, brushing her muzzle against Nightcloud's fur and staring into her eyes. Owlpaw couldn't see what was happening in Silentpaw's bizarre and nearly paranormal eyes, but it must have been comforting, for Nightcloud relaxed, and merely looked distressed.

"I am terribly sorry," Graystripe whispered. "We must return to our camp now."

Nightcloud nodded listlessly, but the white cat bared her teeth at Graystripe. "We will not forget this, even if it was an accident!" she hissed. Graystripe merely nodded and raised his tail so that his clanmates followed him.

"Nightcloud!" Volepaw finally burst out desperately, turning away and racing back to the black cat. "I'm so sorry!" he wailed, looking almost as anguished as Nightcloud had been.

Silentpaw brushed against Owlpaw as she rejoined him. It was a shock to see her blue eyes misty and dull with hollowed grief. They seemed to be screaming _what have I done?_

Nightcloud peered down at the apprentice for a moment, and Owlpaw felt a surge of frustration as she looked ready to attack the apprentice. _It was an accident! If Volepaw hadn't gotten that stupid apprentice off of him, _he_ would have been killed!_

Finally, the she-cat murmured, "I know," before turning with the white warrior and the two she-cat's leaped across the thin river and waited there like shadows for Crowfeather to return.

**.:s:.:i:.:l:.:e:.:n:.:t:.:a:.:s:.:t:.:h:.:e:.:g:.:r:.:a:.:v:.:e:. **

That night was horrific.

Every cat was worried about the Windclan attack.

Accusations were hurled at a terrified Volepaw.

And most of all, everyone wondered: _why, _how_ had __Silentpaw__ known about __misfortune to come_


	5. C4: And He Connected At Last

**A/N I'm so sorry for the long wait. A few months ago I realized that I had no idea what I was doing with this story, so I had to brainstorm. The answer has come to me, people! In a vague and hazy cloud, maybe, but it is there, I assure you! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Warriors or the penname Erin Hunter which would, in fact, give me authority over the former. Also, if I were Erin Hunter, I would suck as an author. Logic ftw. **

The proceeding moons did not quench the questions all of the cats of Thunderclan had for Silentpaw. Silentpaw, who did not seem to mind the pressing curiosity, didn't ever take any notice of it. It was almost routine to discover the little white she-cat eating with a perhaps not-so-comfortable Owlpaw at sunset, with warriors on every side, all of their gazes hard upon the she-cat.

Snatches of conversation would drift to Owlpaw's ears, and he twitched them unhappily.

"…from Starclan lately. Maybe _she_ has the answers. That's why she…"

"…don't think it's a big deal. The apprentice surely sensed the rain that came later that day…"

"…just a coincidence…"

By far the worst rumor boring down on the swelteringly hot camp that moon was never spoken. It didn't need to be spread from tongue to tongue; everybody was thinking it- except for the kits, who were too young to understand. One thing was clear, or at least suspected: Silentpaw had known that tragedy would strike Thunderclan, and it had, in the fact that Windclan was now more hostile towards the clan than ever before. The worst rumor by far… why had she not stopped the tragedy from occurring? Led the group away, kept a close eye on Otterpaw, intervened in the battle between Volepaw and…?

Owlpaw wasn't a genius, he was an apprentice; he didn't know any more than the next cat what was special about Silentpaw. He had no idea if Silentpaw even knew what was special about her- every time the subject came up she would sigh and her shoulders would sag as if by some great weight. The white apprentice had chosen a good cat to be her friend, he didn't constantly _need_ to know every answer right away, unlike his siblings and clan mates.

And that was another, if just as puzzling, topic. Why did Silentpaw attach herself to him? What was so special about Owlpaw? Compliments constantly tossed around by his siblings were things like arrogant, cynical, aloof, irritable… and the list went on. Still Silentpaw had never seemed reluctant in racing to Owlpaw's side and greeting him with a complementary blink of her crystal blue eyes, eyes that he still wasn't quite used to.

Too eerie.

"All I want is peace and quiet," Owlpaw groaned aloud.

Just a few paw steps in front of him Silentpaw turned to look at him, her bright eyes speculative. If she could talk, Owlpaw was pretty sure she'd be saying "_me too, then maybe we could catch something around here to eat!_"

This was just guesswork, though. Everybody thought that she said different things, depending on that cat's personality. It often led to arguments, but Silentpaw rarely seemed to mind. In Owlpaw's opinion, she seemed a bit like him, to-the-point, sarcastic, almost business-like, or at least if her ever-rolling eyes and swishing of her long tail were any indication. However to Volepaw she was apparently 'just trying to get through the day without catching any positive or negative attention', and to Otterpaw she was the typical she-cat, a little self-absorbed, obsessive, and bossy. In Owlpaw's opinion, out of these three contrasting personalities, he was quite certain she was most like the former.

Smirking a little, Owlpaw didn't speak again and the two apprentices hunted relatively well. Well enough to earn each of their mentor's approvals, at least.

"Well done, you two," Birchfall purred as the two apprentices slipped through the gorse tunnel into the stone hollow camp. Firestar, who was passing with a squirrel in his jaws, set down his food and blinked at the two appreciatively.

"I see our apprentices are shaping up well," his green eyes shone. "Silentpaw, get ready- tomorrow we'll be climbing trees, okay?"

Silentpaw bowed her head and then followed Owlpaw to the pile of fresh-kill to deposit their catch and eat some themselves.

***

"You can finish the rest if you want," Owlpaw sighed, leaving his half eaten chaffinch beside Silentpaw and heaving himself to his paws. She blinked her blue eyes after him as he turned away from her. He had gotten up early for the dawn patrol that day and Birchfall wanted to practice battle moves early the next morning. To be honest, Owlpaw hadn't properly slept since the incident with Windclan, and he rather fancied a frivolous dream involving warm sunshine and surplus voles and rich forest scents.

"What do you think you are doing?" came a sharp, familiar voice. Inwardly wincing, Owlpaw turned back slowly to face his sister. He had recently grown a bit taller than her, but her motherly moodiness still scared him more than all of Shadowclan, though he would rather die than admit it. "If you aren't going to finish your food, then give it to the elders or bury it!" Otterpaw's eyes flashed.

"I gave it to Silentpaw!" Owlpaw snapped. "You want to go tell her that the elders should eat it instead of her, be my guest."

Otterpaw's face fell slightly, the knives in her green eyes dulling like snow in Greenleaf sun. "Silentpaw?" she echoed, and for one wild moment, Owlpaw had the forbidding feeling that Otterpaw had no idea who he was talking about. His heart thumped as he thought back, wondering if he had said the wrong name on accident or was dreaming or something. Otterpaw was staring at him curiously, cautiously, with something frighteningly close to concern in her eyes. Then the confusion died as quickly as it had come and Otterpaw sighed in exasperation.

"Silentpaw went to bed a few moments again, mouse-brain," she sniffed. Owlpaw whipped around and saw that his prey was, indeed, sitting quite alone, waiting for flies to swarm in and devour it. That was strange, Silentpaw must have tried to catch his attention and tell him that she didn't want the rest but he hadn't noticed it. He also must not have noticed her slipping back into their den. Oh well, it wasn't that big of a deal.

"Well, it was her that left it there, then, not me!" he growled hotly, embarrassment heating up his ears uncomfortably.

"Fine, whatever," Otterpaw mewed. "I'm not your mother, you know, you should learn to clean up after yourself," although her tone was irked, she padded over to the half-eaten bird and began to eat the rest of it. He thought he heard her mutter something having to do with how messy toms were and she would rather live a life bearing no kits than fall in love with a slob like Owlpaw. Purring with amusement, Owlpaw pushed his way into the apprentices den at last.

He picked his way carefully around the sleeping bodies and collapsed at last between Silentpaw and Volepaw.

"Hey, Silentpaw, why didn't you take the chaffinch to Longtail if you didn't want it? Otterpaw nearly bit my tail off!" he whispered hotly. If Silentpaw heard him, she feigned sleep instead of replying (in a rather figurative sense of the word).

That night, Owlpaw did indeed dream of the heavenly forest of play. He was delighting in chasing a squirrel across a long stretch of unbroken ground, his mouth open, his nostrils flared. The squirrel remained just a hair in front of him, but he was gaining. In a split second he would be upon it. Without breaking pace, Owlpaw leapt and sank his claws on his kill. He yowled to the sky triumphantly and bent to take a bite when –

Suddenly, the sunshine faded to moonlight, the open forest transformed into a shadowy den, the chirping of life replaced by the quiet snoring of many young cats. Owlpaw sat up, disorientated and looked around sleepily. He was back in his den and- judging by the deep blue of his surroundings- had woken up far earlier than intended. Yawning, Owlpaw moved to settle back down for a few more hours of rest when he realized that Silentpaw's nest was empty.

Curious, he sniffed her bedding. Her scent was relatively fresh; she must have been what had woke him up, then. Wondering why Silentpaw had decided to evacuate the den in the middle of the night, Owlpaw rose to his paws and silently slipped out of the apprentices' den. He glanced around warily and saw Sandstorm sitting guard, her ears pricked dangerously. For a heartbeat, Owlpaw seriously considered just walking up to her and asking her if she had seen Silentpaw. However, something held him back. Assuming she had not seen the apprentice, Sandstorm would sound the alarm and everybody would be doubly angry with Silentpaw- it would be better if Owlpaw could find her quickly and bring her back himself.

Silent as the grave, Owlpaw slid across the camp, hugging the stone wall, to the tunnel that led to the dirt place. Silentpaw's scent was strong here, but stale enough to be sure she hadn't just gotten up to make dirt. With a quick glance to make sure Sandstorm hadn't spotted him, Owlpaw ducked through the tunnel.

On the other side, Silentpaw's scent was easy to trace; it led directly to the lake. _That's odd,_ Owlpaw thought. _Maybe she wants a drink of water?_

An owl hooted nearby, unnerving the young tomcat, and he broke into a run, speeding up through the eerily silent night until he was cantering through the forest at top speed. As he neared the lake and Silentpaw, he slowed his pace so that he had gotten his breath back when he reached the edge of the trees. And there she was, sitting with her back towards him, bathed in moonlight.

Owlpaw padded nearer- for a split second, he reckoned he could see the lake shining through Silentpaw, as if her opacity had diminished. The young tabby blinked hard and she was fully visible again.

"Hey, Silentpaw, what are you doing out here so late?" he asked, coming beside the she-cat. She was so close to the lake that his paws were submerged in the water, foam licking his fur uncomfortably.

Silentpaw didn't reply, but looked at him with blue eyes so sad that the momentary urge to scream in agony washed over Owlpaw. He gasped and flinched, wanting to run away, but something held him in place. _It hurts!_ It hurt his chest like a badger's bite. Was this how Silentpaw always felt, he wondered, basking in such terrible misery she would want to throw herself into the lake and just drown? He tried taking a step back but realized with a pang that his own paws had not obeyed him- he had stepped forward, not backwards. Closer to Silentpaw.

Silentpaw moved closer quickly and buried her muzzle in Owlpaw's neck fur, making him bristle in shock. However, her warmth was not unwelcome, and Owlpaw gradually calmed and pressed his head into her long fur. Something on her fur smelled so familiar and nice. For moons, or maybe just heartbeats, they stood close, taking comfort in each other.

_Is this why she's closest to me?_ Owlpaw wondered suddenly.

He felt like the sun. He felt like the sun and she was his moon. Like a byzantine system, the two depended on each other. They connected.

**A/N why is it that the more I write, the better (or so I think) I get, but the more 'Erin Hunter' writes, the crappier her work gets? I don't get it. The new serious sucks majorly, but the 1****st**** serious was total win. Does anybody understand why? If so, please let me know!**


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